May 23, 2017

In the last two decades, there has been a movement to bring the church and home together in a partnership to disciple kids.

This is a great mission since we know parents are normally the biggest influence in their child's life. Many strategies have been tried such as take home papers, text messages, shared worship experiences, email and even apps for phones. Even with all of these creative ways of attempting to involve parents in their kids' spiritual discipleship, the big question remains...are they effective? Are parents actually using any of these tools? That can be a challenging stat to measure. We do know some parents use the discipleship tools we work hard to provide them with, but we are always looking for ways to engage more parents in this strategy.

Recent research has revealed a proven tool that Millennial parents use with their kids. And the good news is it is free for any children's ministry to use. What's the tool?

YouTube.

Millions of Millennial parents are tuning in to YouTube for three main reasons.

1. Entertainment.

2. Educational content.

3. Watch videos with their kids.

The fact that Millennial parents are tuning in to YouTube for educational advice reveals a great opportunity for the church to partner with them spiritually. Consider this. 70% of parents tuning in to YouTube are there looking for parental guidance help. If the church wants to partner with parents, then creating parenting videos from a Biblical perspective and placing them on YouTube is a wide open door.
Here's another question you may be thinking about. How do you get parents to actually watch the videos? We've all felt the frustration of spending time and resources on creating take home papers, only to find them scattered in the parking lot after church or spending money creating an app that is rarely opened by parents.

One interesting thing to consider is this. Moms are particularly open to receiving parenting tips and help from brands they know and trust. If you want moms to watch the videos you put on YouTube, you must first earn their trust. It takes time to build trust. It takes providing relevant content to build trust. It takes excellence to build trust.

Want to find out how to come up with relevant content? Research what parents are looking for advice about. For example, many parents are looking for advice on subjects like what time is the best time for naps for babies, when should you give your child their first smartphone, when you should have the sex talk with your kids, etc. Answering these type questions from a Biblical perspective is a key to get parents watching your content. Want more topics parents are interested in? It's just a Google search or parent survey away. And don't leave dads out. Recent studies show that more Millennial fathers are watching parenting-related videos on YouTube than mothers.
40% of Millennials are now parents and the church has an unprecedented opportunity to partner with them. These young parents have more open relationships with their children than any previous generation. 80% say their child is one of their best friends and 75% involve their child in household decisions. They are having conversations with their children. The church must provide them with something worth talking about and they will engage in discipling their children.